Holy Spirit, like wind.

Like wind, blowing through trees, Holy Spirit works through some more than others at different moments.

The trees job is to grow... slowly, consistently.

Before long, it looks around to see that it's in the company of other great giants.

It thinks not of being a different kind of tree because its energy is entirely given to being present. To being a tree.

May we enjoy Holy Spirit moving through us, and celebrate when He does so in others, even when we feel nothing ourselves.

May the movement of the leaves be enough for us. Enjoying the Life in and around us.

–

After a wonderful conversation and time of contemplation with a dear friend, I found myself sitting alone in my car simply soaking in the bliss that flows when the consciousness of Lovehere becomes as real as the sidewalk we'd just walked on. With windows open... the warm summers breeze paired with scattered beams of sunlight swimming past the upper leaves and the sound of birds, all kindly welcomed my first four senses into awareness: feel, sight, sound, and smell. Then I slowly breathed in the soft tones of my surroundings: now taste was activated.

It was the agreeing with Beauty and Unity that was flowing through the moment. The moment as it was intended to be.

As I sat, I listened to a song. The kind of listening that elevates and moves your perception of all things into a space not always inhabited.

Each word like a step on some inner process of thought that was somehow connecting with the landscape directly in-front of me. The unseen connecting with the seen. Common union and awareness of it.

As the moment unfolded, I noticed His whisper.

It was sound.

It was sight.

It was taste.

It was touch.

It was smell.

And while the moment included all five, there was more... the more that cannot be organized or neatly explained. God outside, God inside. His voice always there, but now, just as the outgoing tide exposes the unseen ocean floor, so too was His whisper being exposed as my self important busyness was receding which had been drowning out the buried world of active participation in all things with God.

It was the kind of whisper that's actually difficult to track with because it's so tender and soft spoken. The kind that lovingly demands you to lean in and allow the vibrations of the hum to translate the something being exchanged. It is not word for word recordable nor intended to be, it's much deeper than language, much wider than senses, much higher than the understanding our mind can fathom. It's God we're talking about. The infinitely knowable One from which all goodness flows, speaking through the common. This is the message Jesus gave at the last supper, "Take and eat; this is my body." Matthew 26v26

I noticed a small pocket of leaves in the two trees on the right shimmering in the wind. It was beautiful.

They were the only leaves moving... everything else was still. Then it came. Love's whisper...

"Do you see those two trees (on the right)?"

Yes Daddy, I do.

"Do you see the water and light between them?"

Yes God, I do.

... this next part of the conversation was deeply personal. And while I could share it, this post is leading to what happens next, so let's go there. Twenty or so minutes have past:

"I am like wind, blowing where I please..."

Yes! Yes God, thank you God!

You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God. John 3v8

"So how will you react in the moments when I am blowing though those in-front of you, but not through you in the way you want? Will you be upset? Angry? Will you want to quit?"

God, I want to celebrate You in them. But that's hard for me.

"I know."

How do I celebrate You in those moments God?

"The trees have been faithful to be trees, that's how they're all so big and strong. The trees job is to grow... slowly, consistently. Before long, they look around to see that they're in the company of other great giants. They think not of being a different kind of tree because their energy is entirely given to being present."

Rhythm of Practicing Peace

What if instead of comparison, some moments are intended for us to enjoy God through others? What if rather than wondering. "Why not me God?" the better response is to receive the gift of rest as we look on with wonder and amazement of God's beauty in and through those around us. And what if the Spirit of God really is like the wind and it's more about noticing and enjoying Him than controlling what we think is best in the moment?

Practice: Head to a local park (or someplace with trees) and find a place you can be still. Watch the leaves and notice how gently they dance in the wind.

Scripture: Meditate on Psalm 1v2-3a in first person, "my delight is in the law of the Lord, and I meditate on Your law day and night. I am like a tree planted by streams of water..."

Rest in the truth that like the trees (and leaves they hold) you're made to dance in the wind of His Spirit, to allow His presence to flow through you.

Prayer: God thank you, thank you that you want to flow through me. Yes God, have your way. All I am is yours, come Holy Spirit.